Cloud Eggs

by Kirbie

Baked Cloud Eggs is a recent Instagram food trend. Egg whites are whipped to a meringue state so that they resemble clouds and are then topped with the yolk. It’s a fun way to serve eggs for breakfast or brunch.

Have you tried cloud eggs yet? Curiosity got the best of me when I saw images of these trending on Instagram. I’m not the only one who fantasized about tasting a cloud as a kid, right?

Honestly, I was a little worried about how they would taste. Plain whipped egg whites is not exactly appetizing. But after doing some research, I was relieved to learn the egg whites are flavored with cheese, meat, herbs, etc before baking. For my version, the egg whites are mixed with parmesan cheese and garlic chives.

Once they were finished baking, I also topped them with scallions and bacon.
So what do they taste like? The cloud part has a savory flavor from the parmesan and chives. The texture is similar to a soft marshmallow, which isn’t too surprising since meringue is an important step in making marshmallows. It does feel a little like you’re munching on a cloud– at least how I imagined clouds tasted before I went to school and learned about clouds.

I don’t think it’ll be making my list of favorite ways to eat eggs, but it was fun to try at least once. Mr. K really enjoyed them though and requested that I make them again soon.

Yield: 4

Cloud Eggs

Prep Time:10 min

Cook Time:6 min

Total Time:16 min

Egg whites are whipped to a meringue state to resemble clouds before being baked and topped with the egg yolk.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Separate egg whites from egg yolks. Place egg whites into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Be careful when separating that you do not contaminate the egg whites. Also make sure anything you are using that will touch the egg whites is clean, otherwise the egg whites will not whip up properly. Whip egg whites on high speed with mixer until stiff, glossy peaks form. If you are to turn your mixing bowl upside down, the egg whites should stay in place.

Gently fold in the cheese and chives. Divide batter into four mounds placed onto your parchment-lined baking sheet. You can shape the mounds slightly so that they look like clouds. Make an indent in the center of each mound that is the size of the egg yolk because that is where you will place the egg yolks later.

Bake for about 4-5 minutes (use the lesser time if you plan on cooking your egg yolks longer) or until egg whites start turning golden brown on top. Add egg yolk and cook 1-3 minutes more, depending on how much you want to cook your egg yolk. You may also want to test one first, to make sure the egg white is completely cooked because you do want the egg whites to be fully cooked. I found the egg whites needed between 6-7 minutes to fully cook.

Garnish with bacon and scallions. Eggs will be a little stuck on the parchment paper, but you should be able to remove them with a cookie spatula. Serve immediately. Egg clouds and yolks will shrink slightly as they start to cool so it's best to eat right away.

For best results, make sure to add some flavorful ingredients to the egg white cloud mixture and make sure your egg whites are completely cooked.